collision course. opposition leaders vow to liberate libya's capital. moammar gadhafi's last major stronghold. war games. senior military officers reportedly used psychological warfare to try to manipulate members of the u.s. senate. and judgment today. wikileaks founder julian assange expected to learn today if he'll be extradited to sweden to face expected to learn today if he'll be extradited to sweden to face sex crime allegations. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us, i'm betty nguyen. hour by hour, mile by mile,

the anti-government rebellion in libya is closing in on moammar gadhafi. gadhafi has lost control of eastern libya, cities closer to the capital tripoli are being taken over by anti-government forces. gadhafi is holed up in tripoli, protected by hired militiamen and supporters. more anti-government rallies are planned there today. entire army units are defecting and they now control key cities. mandy clark has made it to libya and has the latest. >> reporter: this was the scene when we arrived at the main square. residents shouted, welcome to free libya. and chanted, down with gadhafi. inside the protesters' tents, young and old men fought for our attention. why are you here? why in the tent? >> we are here for the freedom. we need the freedom. >> reporter: like protesters across the arab world, they've captured the regime's brutality on cell phones. what am i looking at here?

>> gadhafi shoot them. they refused to kill our libyan brothers and sisters. >> reporter: the gadhafi stronghold in tripoli it was a very different scene. his supporters took to the streets in a noisy display of loyalty, after his televised speech. but even as they did there were reports of gunfire, and street battles in other parts of the city. gadhafi vowed to defend his 42-year grip on the country, to the death, if necessary. but that grip continues to slip away. anti-government protesters in the city of mesrada tore down a statue of gadhafi's green book, a symbol of his rule. it's the first major city in the western half of the country to fall to anti-government forces, bringing the insurgency increasingly closer to the heart of his regime, and his power base in the capital. with no end in sight to this

uprising, the fear is there will be many more casualties in the coming days. mandy clark, cbs news, libya. foreigners are trying to escape the trouble in libya. hundreds of americans are on board a ferry scheduled to take them to malta. they were scheduled to leave wednesday but their trip was delayed by weather. the scene at the airport is described as chaotic. people are fighting to get on the few flights that are leaving. more than a dozen countries sent planes to get their citizens out. in other news, a former high-ranking libyan government official says moammar gadhafi personally gave the order to bomb pan am flight 103. all 259 people on board were killed. most of them americans, when the pan am 747 was blown out of the sky over lockerbie, scotland, in 1988. libya's ex-justice minister told a swedish newspaper that he has prove gadhafi ordered that attack. but, he wouldn't say what that proof was. world leaders, including president obama, have condemned gadhafi's deadly crackdown

against anti-government protesters. michael herzenberg is in washington with the latest on this. good morning, michael. what do you know? >> well, good morning, betty. the president hasn't had much to say publicly about the crisis. but wednesday, he condemned the violence and warned the world is watching. >> suffering and bloodshed is outrageous, and it is unacceptable. so are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters. >> reporter: the president also said his administration is now exploring a full range of options to respond to the crisis. that could include economic sanctions, even military action. one option, establish a no-fly zone over libya like the ones once enforced over iraq to keep a dictator from using his air force against his own people. without some kind of intervention, analysts predict the crisis will descend further into chaos. >> this is really a fight to the death, i think, in libya. not only for gadhafi and his regime, but for the protesters, and their ability to survive another day.

>> in five days on monday, secretary of state hillary clinton will be in geneva for international talks to end the violence. betty, back to you. >> all right, michael herzenberg in washington. thank you, michael. it's been two days since a powerful earthquake struck new zealand and hopes of finding more survivors are fading. the death toll from tuesday's quake has reached at least 98, with another 226 missing. many of them believed to be foreign students. >> we are obviously very fearful tonight that the death toll could be much greater than any of us had ever feared. and, of course, it's a very worrying piece of information that also doesn't include some of the international people that we know may be caught up in this tremendous tragedy. >> the students attended an english-language school in a television building. police say up to 120 bodies may be trapped inside. a british court is expected to rule today on the extradition case of wikileaks' founder julian assange. assange has been fighting extradition to sweden where he's

accused in a sex crime case. assange says he cannot get a fair trial in sweden. he also fears he could be handed over to the united states, which is investigating the possibility of charging assange for leaking sensitive information. "rolling stone" magazine is reporting that the u.s. army illegally sought to manipulate members of the u.s. senate and others using psychological warfare, or psy-ops method. the order is said to have come in late 2009 from lieutenant general william caldwell who wanted lawmakers to vote for more troops and funding for the war in afghanistan. "rolling stone" quotes an sigh opposite psy-ops officer as resisting the order, describing his job as to quote, to play with people's heads. lieutenant colonel michael holmes size he's forbidden from doing that to americans and when you ask me to use these skills on senators and congressmen, you're crossing the line. "rolling stone" says the list of targets included senators john mccain, joel lieberman, al franken and others. gay rights groups are celebrating a decision by the

obama administration to stop enforcing a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage. the justice department made the announcement on wednesday. the white house confirmed it but mr. obama is still, quote, grappling with his personal views on same-sex marriage. in hawaii, governor neil abercrombie signed a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions. the new law doesn't establish same-sex marriage in hawaii. but it does give gay and lesbian couples the same state rights as married partners. the u.s. state department is praising mexico for arresting six suspects in last week's deadly attack on two u.s. immigration officers. the alleged members of the zeta drug gang included the leader julian zapata espinoza. one u.s. agent was killed, the other wounded, in an attack on a highway in northern mexico. at the kennedy space center this morning preparations are under way for the launch of the shuttle "discovery" this afternoon. "discovery's" flight to the international space station will be its 39th and final mission,

as the space shuttle program nears its end. first launched in 1984, "discovery" has spent nearly a full year in orbit. just ahead on the "morning news," a possible overhaul of the national kidney transplant system. plus, it's no joke, wisconsin governor scott walker falls for a prank call. you're watching the "cbs morning news." re watching the "cbs morning news." lose those lines for up to a year! juvéderm® xc is the gel filler your doctor uses to instantly smooth out lines right here. temporary side effects include redness, pain, firmness, swelling, bumps, or risk of infection. ask your doctor about juvéderm® xc. metamucil uses super hard working psyllium fiber, which gels to remove unsexy waste and reduce cholesterol. taking psyllium fiber won't make you a model but you should feel a little more super. metamucil. down with cholesterol. and she's going in with no protective gear? her hands could dry out.

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and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda® you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. that's how splenda® is sweet...and more. it has been an overnight struggle for firefighters in western pennsylvania, after a powerful explosion and fire at a natural gas well. last night's blast injured two workers at the wellhead northwest of pittsburgh. fire could be a big problem for the detroit suburb of allen park, michigan, if officials carry out a plan to lay off nearly the entire fire department. angry firefighters attended a city council meeting tuesday to protest planned laugh notices for all of them, except the town's fire chief. the layoffs are scheduled to

take place in 30 days, unless a budget crisis can be resolved. the latest round of wisconsin's battle with public workers' unions came in a prank phone call. governor scott walker took the call from a liberal blogger pretending to be a billionaire conservative. walker spoke of plans to lay off public workers and force democrat state senators camped in illinois to return for a vote on curbing union bargaining power. >> only say we'll wait it out. if they want to start sacrificing thousands of public workers and be laid off, sooner or later there's going to be pressure on the senators to come back. >> scott went on to compare himself to ronald reagan, battling big labor, saying, quote, this is when we change the course of history. in in medical news, there could be a major overhaul in the way kidneys are distributed to patients in need of a transplant. under a new proposal, the best kidneys would go to younger, healthier patients. the current system gives priority to people who've been on the waiting list the longest. now the aim is for patients to

get the most out of each kidney. the kidney transplant pardon for two sisters in mississippi, that is on hold. jamie and gladys scott were released from prison january 7th after serving 16 years for a robbery. that was on the condition that gladys donate a kidney to jamie. but now doctors say they cannot have the surgery until gladys loses 60 pounds and quits smoking. jamie loses 100 pounds. on the "cbs moneywatch," stocks in asia continue to slide this morning. ashley morrison is here in new york with all of that. good morning, ashley. >> and good morning to you, betty. most asian markets saw another sell-off. japan's nikkei dropped more than 1%, hitting a three-week low while hong kong's hang seng also tumbled more than 1%. and the price of oil rose nearly to $99 a barrel. today wall street gets a look at the weekly jobless claim numbers. on wednesday, day two was the biggest sell-off in months. the dow lost 107 points, while the nasdaq dropped 33. foreclosures are driving the

slight rebound in home sales. according to numbers released overnight from realty track, foreclosures accounted for 26% of all home sales last year. in 2009 it was even higher at 29%. a record number of foreclosures have forced home prices down in most markets. the median sales price for a home fell last month to its lowest level in nearly nine years. gm's road to recovery could pass a major milestone today. the auto giant is expected to report full-year earnings of more than $5 billion. that would be general motors' first annual profit in six years. gm sells more than 70% of its vehicles outside the u.s., including more in china than anywhere else. the u.s. government still owns a third of gm's common stock. ford is recalling thousands of its best-selling pickups. the recall affects 135,000 f-150s from the 2005 and 2006 model years. ford says air bags in some trucks have deployed

accidentally. usually just after the engine was started. and the newest ipad goes on sale today. most analysts consider the motorola zoom to be the first tablet that could actually pose a challenge to apple. it runs the latest version of google's android operating system land eventually run on a high-speed 4-g network, something the ipad can't do. but it's bad timing for moat ral la as apple is expected to unveil its second generation ipad next week. that will be interesting to see, betty. >> i just don't know anymore. there's so many of them out there now. >> i can't keep up, either. >> all right. ashley morrison joining us live here in new york. thank you, ashley. straight ahead your thursday morning weather. and in sports, hello melo. carmelo anthony's triumphant debut in new york. 's triumphant debut in new york. ♪

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campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york partly cloudy, 46 degrees. miami, partly cloudy, 84. chicago, cloudy there, 40 degrees. dallas will see some thunderstorms, 74. and a sunny 60 degrees in l.a. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows thick clouds popping up in the southern plains and southeast. and snow showers are spreading throughout the northwest. later today, warm, moist air will continue to rise into the southeast, and that will add fuel to a potential severe weather outbreak for arkansas, tennessee, and kentucky.

the central west coast regions could see increasing clouds and showers later today. in sports, carmelo anthony made a lot of noise in his first game here in new york. >> carmelo anthony! >> the all-star forward was cheered by knicks fans last night after this week's big trade with denver. anthony scored 27 points against milwaukee, including some clutch baskets in the closing minutes. and new york beat the bucks 114-108. in overtime kobe bryant of the lakers had a jump shot with less than 30 seconds left on portland. he finished with 37 points and los angeles pulled out of a 106-101 victory. and in san antonio, tony parker hit a jumper with 26 seconds left on the clock. the spurs defeated oklahoma city 109-105. san antonio still has the best record in the league with 47 wins and only 10 losses. in college football, arizona

state's starting quarterback steven threet says he is quitting because of concussions. he has had four concussions, including two this past season. he says he won't play this fall because he's still suffering from post-concussion syndrome, and filled with constant headaches. when we return another look at this morning's top stories. and which stars can expect to add oscars to their resume? a preview of this weekend's academy awards. his weekend's academy awards. with chili's new $6 lunch break combos. choose from a house salad or hot, tasty soup. then pair it with a massive texas toast half sandwich, like our delicious classic turkey or our gigantic new southwestern blt, smothered in cilantro lime mayo and jam-packed with three glorious slices of applewood smoked bacon. served with fries, that's big flavor for just 6 bucks! the $6 break for bold, weekdays at chili's.

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on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. thunderstorms are forming in the lower mississippi river valley. the warm, and humid conditions will be in the southeast. and in the northeast, the conditions are dry and sunny. here's another look at this morning's top stories. moammar gadhafi is losing his

grip on power in libya. anti-government protesters and rebel military troops control much of eastern libya, and are quickly moving in on the capital. and a london judge is expected to rule today on whether wikileaks founder julian assange will be extradited to sweden where he's wanted for questioning in a sex crimes case. sunday is hollywood's big night of the year. the 83rd academy awards will be held in los angeles. so, who will bring home oscar gold? sandra hughes has a preview from hollywood. >> reporter: most hollywood insiders are placing bets on a story about a british king with a stammer to be the star at this year's academy awards. are there any categories you think are a done deal? >> i really avoid using the word shoo-in. because when you have a five-way race, in the case of the best picture a ten-way race, anything can happen. but i think "the king's speech" and colin firth are as close to a shoo-in as you could get this year. >> reporter: the surprise of the

night just might be the show itself. hosted not by comedians but actress anne hathaway, the youngest host ever, and james franco. >> help! >> reporter: who is up for best actor for his role in "127 hours." >> and he's so much fun. he's very unpredictable. and i think they're looking at that, too. i asked the producers about that. they said yeah, they were slightly worried but in a good way. because it creates for fun to watch the show when somebody is unpredictable. >> reporter: there's much speculation about the best actress category where natalie portman's performance in "black swan" has been touted as award worthy. but -- >> annette bening is really good in "the kids are all right." in fact i'm just sorry that her co-star julianne moore couldn't have gotten nominated, too, because they're both great examples. but annette bening has been nominated several times before and hasn't yet won. >> reporter: don't forget "the social network" also a strong contender for best picture and -- >> problems? >> what problems? >> reporter: "the fighter's" actors are battling for their spotlight in best supporting

roles. sandra hughes, cbs news, hollywood. this morning on "the early show," how to look like you belong on the red carpet. celebrity secrets from great-looking skin. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time... time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. comes in a liquid gel. can getting enough vegetables make you feel good? oh, yeah. v8 juice gives you 3 of your 5 daily servings of vegetables. v8. what's your number?

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in 30 seconds, it will be 5:00. it's a cold, dry start. we're an even 2 dozen days into the month of february. let's go ahead and take a look at the day